NEWS & NOTES ON SPORTS' NEW P.T.P.-ER -- COMCAST

ABC and Comcast are in discussions about distributing the
new ABC News cable network to the cableco's 4.2 million
subscribers. VARIETY notes, as part of the deal, Comcast may
begin carrying ABC soap operas in the evenings after they have
aired on its Q2 network -- sister network to QVC (VARIETY, 3/18-
24 issue)....In Philadelphia, Mike Bruton speculates that Comcast
may be in discussions about buying SportsChannel Philadelphia and
PRISM (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/22)....Sallie Hofmeister writes
that Comcast's acquisition of the Flyers and Sixers may enable it
to separate itself from companies such as Bell Atlantic, which
has plans on entering the cable market in Philadelphia.
Hofmeister notes that Comcast officials know that "Movies and
sports drive cable subscriptions" (L.A. TIMES, 3/22)